See Me (34 page)

“Of course we’re still on for lunch,” Jill announced. “I can’t wait to hear about your weekend! It sounds amazing!”

 

 

The partners were
still
behind closed doors when Maria finally took a seat across the table from Jill at a nearby restaurant.

“What in the world is going on today? It’s like some sort of twilight zone back there! And what are the partners talking about? No one seems to know anything.”

Jill expelled a long breath. “It’s all very hush-hush right now… but I’m sure you’ve noticed the absence of your paralegal?”

“Does she have something to do with what’s going on?”

“You could say that,” Jill muttered, trailing off when the waiter approached to take their drink orders. She waited until the waiter had walked away before speaking again. “We’ll get to that,” she said. “And I’ll answer what I can. Mainly, I wanted to have lunch with you because I wanted to run something by you in confidence.”

“Yeah, of course…” Maria said.

“Are you happy working at the firm?”

“I’m doing okay. Why?”

“Because I was wondering if you’d ever consider leaving and coming to work with me at my own firm.”

Maria was too stunned to formulate an answer.

Jill nodded. “I know it’s a big decision, and you don’t need to give me an answer right now. But I want you to think about it. Especially now, given what’s going on.”

“I still don’t know what’s going on. And wait… You’re leaving?”

“We’ve been working on our plans since before you started here.”

“We?”

“I’ll be working with Leslie Shaw. She’s an employment attorney with Scanton, Dilly and Marsden, and we went to law school together. She’s terrific, sharp as a tack, and shrewd when it comes to labor law. I’d like you to meet her if you’re open to the idea of maybe coming to work with us. You’d have to like her, of course… but if you have no desire to leave, then I hope you’ll forget I said anything at all. For now, we’re trying to keep this as quiet as possible.”

“I won’t say anything,” Maria promised, the shock still reverberating. “And of course I’d be willing to meet her, but… why are you thinking about leaving?”

“Because our firm is in trouble. Like,
Titanic
-hitting-the-iceberg trouble, and the next few months aren’t going to be pretty.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our managing partner, Ken, is about to get sued by Lynn for sexual harassment. And I’m guessing that two, maybe even three other paralegals are also going to sue. That’s what the partners have been meeting about all day. Because it’s going to make the news and it’s going to be ugly. From what I heard, the private mediation didn’t go well last week.”

“What mediation?”

“Last Thursday.”

“Which explains why Lynn, Barney, and Ken were absent… Why haven’t I heard anything about this?”

“Because Lynn hasn’t filed with the EEOC yet.”

“Then why was there a mediation at all?”

“Because Ken was warned about it a couple weeks back and has been doing everything he can to head it off. You’ve noticed, I’m sure, that he’s been on his best behavior since then. He’s terrified. I’m sure he expects the firm to negotiate a settlement, and I’m sure the other partners are balking at that. They want Ken to make it go away, but he doesn’t have the money.”

“How can he not have the money?”

“Two ex-wives? And this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Ken has settled before. That’s why I used to ask you about him. Because you’re young and attractive and you work in the office, which is all it takes, as far as Ken is concerned. The guy does all his thinking from below the waist. And, of course, Lynn will claim that the partners were all in cahoots with him, since they knew exactly what kind of guy he was and never did anything about it. The firm could be staring at a multimillion-dollar payout… and let’s just say that a lot of clients aren’t going to want to be associated with a firm known for rampant sexual harassment. Which brings me back to my original question: Are you open to the idea of joining Leslie and me at a new firm?”

Maria was overwhelmed. “I don’t have employment law experience…”

“I understand, but I’m not worried. You’re smart and driven, and you’ll pick up on it faster than you probably imagine. The one caveat is that we’re probably not going to be able to match your salary from the get-go, but you’ll have more flexible hours, and just by joining on day one you’d be on the fast track to becoming a partner.”

“When are you thinking of leaving?”

“Four weeks from Friday,” she said. “We’ve already leased and furnished an office a few blocks from here; all the paperwork is filed.”

“I’m sure there are others out there who are much more qualified. So why me?”

“Why not you?” Jill smiled. “We’re friends, and if I’ve learned one thing in this profession, it’s that work is a lot more enjoyable when you like the people you spend your days with. I’ve had enough of Ken and Barney to last a lifetime, thank you very much.”

“I’m… flattered.”

“So you’ll think about it? Assuming you and Leslie hit it off?”

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t. What’s Leslie like?”

 

 

The partners finally filed out of the conference room around three p.m., all of them looking grim. Barney immediately holed up in his office, clearly in no mood to talk. The same went for the other partners; one by one, office doors were closed. Like most of the employees, Maria decided to leave a few minutes early, and on her way out she noted that the remaining staff members acted both nervous and scared.

Jill had called her again after speaking with Leslie and confirmed plans for the three of them to have lunch on Wednesday. Jill’s enthusiasm was infectious, but the upheaval was also causing Maria some trepidation. Changing jobs, changing her practice area (again), and joining a start-up still felt risky to her, even if staying here suddenly seemed even riskier.

What she really wanted, she realized, was to talk to someone other than Serena or her parents. Climbing into her car, she found herself driving past Evan’s house and the gym, searching for Colin’s car before winding her way to Wrightsville Beach.

The bar at Crabby Pete’s was mostly empty. She was climbing onto a stool before Colin finally noticed her, and she watched his surprise slowly give way to something more reserved.

“Hi, Colin,” she said quietly. “It’s good to see you.”

“I’m surprised you’re here.”

Staring at him standing behind the bar, she thought to herself that he was one of the handsomest men she’d ever met, and felt the same pang of regret she had on Saturday night.

She sighed. “I’m not.”

 

 

The bar was a good place to talk; the physical barrier between them and the fact that Colin was working kept the conversation from becoming too serious too quickly. Colin briefed her on the fight with Reese and Evan’s insistence that the whole thing had been rigged. Maria told him about the dog they’d helped their parents adopt, along with the crisis at the firm and her new career opportunity with Jill.

As was typical, he listened without interruption; as always, she had to draw out his explanations and thoughts; but when the time came for her to leave, he asked a waiter to cover for him for a few minutes so he could walk her to her car.

He didn’t try to kiss her, and when she realized he wasn’t going to, she leaned in and kissed him. As she tasted the familiar warmth of his mouth, she found herself wondering why she’d felt it necessary to take a break from him in the first place.

At home, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll, she fell asleep quickly. She woke to a text from Colin that thanked her for coming by and told her that he’d missed her.

 

 

Tuesday, the mood at the office was worse than it had been on Monday. While the partners seemed determined to act in a business-as-usual kind of way, the withholding of information was wearing on everyone else. There was little question that most of the office had begun to imagine the worst, and rumors began to fly. Maria heard whispers about layoffs – many of the employees had families and mortgages, which meant that their lives might just become a lot more complicated.

Maria did her best to keep her head down and concentrate on work; Barney remained quiet and distracted. The necessity for focus made the hours pass quickly, and when she finally left the office, she realized she hadn’t thought about the stalker at all.

She wondered whether that was good or bad.

On Wednesday, the lunch with Leslie and Jill went even better than Maria could have hoped. Leslie was in many respects a perfect complement to her best friend in the office – just as lively and irreverent, but also nurturing and thoughtful. The idea of working side by side with them began to seem too good to be true. After lunch, when Jill popped over to report that Leslie had been equally enthusiastic about the meeting, Maria felt a wave of relief. Jill also walked her through their basic offer, including her salary, which was significantly lower, but at this point Maria didn’t care. She would adjust her lifestyle accordingly.

“I’m excited,” she told Jill. She wondered what – if anything – she should reveal about her stalker or the fact that she and Colin were tentatively back together, and then she realized that she hadn’t even mentioned the fact that they’d been broken up.

Too much happening all at once.

Meanwhile, at Martenson, Hertzberg & Holdman, the black cloud that had descended on the office grew steadily darker, and as she and Jill approached her office, Jill leaned toward her.

“Don’t be surprised if you hear something major tomorrow,” she warned.

Indeed, on Thursday morning, word raced through the office that Lynn had filed with the EEOC. Ken again was a no-show. Though the report was supposed to be confidential, in an office of high-powered attorneys with favors to call in, it was soon on virtually everyone’s computer. Joining the crowd, Maria read through the EEOC charges, which spelled out all the lurid details. The report recounted in blunt and highly specific, often sexual language Ken’s numerous and unwanted advances, including his promises of career advancement and a higher salary in exchange for specific sexual favors. Employees, their worst fears now confirmed, were moving around in a daze.